


Aposematism

by obaewankenope (rexthranduil)



Series: Signalling Theory: Blue Coat [1]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: American and British Auror's do not get along, And are outdone by a dork with a suitcase full of illegal creatures, BAMF Newt Scamander, BAMF!Newt, But a badass one, Grindelwald bit off more than he can chew with this magizoologist, I feel like this is gonna need a sequel... Halp, M/M, Newt Scamander is a Dork, Scamander brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 07:11:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9112156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rexthranduil/pseuds/obaewankenope
Summary: Theseus had told him, jokingly one night, that it was Newt's most dangerous quality — the ability to seem harmless when he was quite the opposite. Newt simply considered it wise, especially since he believed his coat was more than a good enough warning that others ought to be wary of him.It wasn't his fault so few humans paid little attention to the meaning of colours.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I have seen Fantastic Beasts only once so far and did not expect to fall in love with the movie, least of all Newt Scamander. As such, I trawled AO3 for fic and found a woefully small amount of bamf!Newt fics in existence. In addition, I discovered the [Code: Blue Coat](https://archiveofourown.org/series/616045) series by [Pinchess07](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinchess07/pseuds/pinchess07) which I strongly recommend you go and read, which cemented my love for Newt and his colourful coat. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this fic, the labours of my distraction, and enjoy the bamf!Newt too :)

Newt Scamander was a curious sort, all gangly limbs and a shy awkwardness that somehow belied a core of entwined iron and gold. Polite, well-mannered, and painfully earnest in a way that had Percy's whole being cringing in sympathy. He was a contradiction.

The view he'd had of the magizoologist was one built from second-hand comments, reports and pensive memories of a variety of Auror's from Percy's own department. Newt Scamander seemed painfully unremarkable in those memories, the reports — dry and dull in the way official documents tended to be — lending little in the way of character or skill that the young Brit possessed.

If Percy had passed Scamander on the street he doubted he'd have considered him as anything more remarkable than another wizard, the young magizoologist seemed to be so generic and forgettable save for his distinctive blue coat.

It had been surprising to hear then that Grindelwald's capture had been near enough down solely to this one person — a  _ civilian _ no less — along with a disgraced ex-Auror, a no-maj and a case full of illegal creatures. More surprising had been  _ Seraphina's _ reaction when Percy had asked after the case Scamander owned and the creatures it housed.

He'd never known Seraphina to skirt a topic quite so juicy as a civilian with illegal creatures that he didn't have permits for. Percy has also never known her to be be so…  _ relaxed _ when such law-breaking occurred.

So, why was she so very reluctant to discuss Scamander except in relation to Grindelwald's capture and Percy's subsequent rescue?

Yes, Newt Scamander was definitely curious.

Percy simply  _ had _ to meet him before the man left for England.

The letter in his hand offered him the perfect opportunity to meet the man whose brother was a renowned Auror and war hero. Perhaps they were more alike than Percy assumed; they must be for Scamander the younger to have fought Grindelwald and survive when Percy himself had been bested.

He'd get the chance to find out soon enough. Duty called, and the chance to learn just what it was that was so remarkable about Newt Scamander was an alluring opportunity for him. To meet the man that had helped put a stop to a madman's desire to start a magical war… well Percy considered that  _ very _ therapeutic, even if the healer he was currently under the care of might disagree.

 

* * * * 

 

Newt, for the most part, quietly hated the hustle and bustle of the Woolworth Building and the endless activity of the MACUSA — it was too loud, too messy and too full of humans by far.

Oh, what he wouldn't do to be able to hide in his case until he could depart!

Unfortunately however, it seemed life had other ideas.

"Mister Scamander." Picquery's voice was level, calm and quietly powerful in a way that reminded Newt of his mother when she was facing the hippogriffs. There was even a trace of fondness in the voice and, despite the strangeness of Picquery's accent, Newt found himself relaxing slightly.

But not enough for anyone aware enough of him and his lifestyle to not notice the way he shifted on the balls of his feet, arms loose at his sides, shoulders sloped back ever so slightly.

Newt was as alert as ever, and twice as sharp.

"Madam President," he murmured, head canted to the side, gaze skimming along Picquery's body seemingly random but he was really taking stock of her body language, just as his ears were taking stock of her voice. Newt's lowered head and avoid any gaze was reminiscent of a prey response to a predator, trying to avoid notice so as to not be today's meal, but in truth it was the opposite for Newt. He'd  learnt very early on that people saw him as far less of a threat if he had trouble making eye contact and the habit had stuck.

It was good for dealing with some of his more aggressive animals anyway.

"We are in your debt Mister Scamander," Picquery said, fixing Newt with a level stare. "If you hadn't suspected Auror Graves to be an imposter, I would never have got my Auror back and Grindelwald would have an Obscurus in his possession."

"T-thank you Madam President but I, I didn't really do much," Newt replied softly, ducking his head in embarrassment. He never did quite know how to handle praise from anyone that wasn't his mother.

Picquery's gaze was sharp, penetrating and Newt found it was surprisingly difficult to not instinctively look up and meet it.

"Perhaps," she said non-committedly and then Newt did look up. There was a spark of pride or something like it, in her dark eyes that had Newt's back straightening for a split second, shoulders rising, and his own gaze sharpening before he blinked and returned to his usual, non-threatening posture. "But your actions  _ did _ help prevent a magical war here Mister Scamander, and for that we owe you much."

Newt ducked his head, cheeks flaming as he smiled slightly. "Tina- Uh, Miss Goldstein helped," he pointed out quietly, noticing out of the corner of his eye the way Picquery nodded her head. His hair was just long enough to obscure people's view of his eyes when his head was lowered, but it did nothing to obscure his own vision. As a creature with biopic vision, Newt knew that humans were capable of focusing on prey or predator alike easily, moreso when the subject of their attention was just as focused on them in return.

It always amazed him how so few people ever considered the sheer brilliance of biopic vision, especially when so many magical creatures shared this trait compared to the variety in visual systems in non-magical animals.

" _ Auror _ Goldstein has been given a commendation for her actions Mister Scamander." Newt couldn't help the wide smile that grew at the news that Tina was an Auror again.

"Oh, well that's- that's uh, good." Newt gave a half-shrug, glancing up at Picquery who raised an elegant eyebrow at him.

"I don't give meaningless praise Mister Scamander," Picquery said, voice quieter and Newt's head rose at the change, his eyes locking with Picquery's own and holding the gaze. "I am even less prone to turning a blind eye to certain  _ things _ ."

Newt's gaze narrowed for a moment, easily picking up on what Picquery was implying, before he looked away again and inclined his head.

"Thank you for that," he murmured, genuine gratitude in his voice.

Silence fell between them, the noise of the MACUSA muffled almost though Newt knew neither of them had cast a muffling charm. Not intentionally at least.

_ Oops _ .

"Grindelwald's trial will be held when your Ministry's Officials arrive this Tuesday Mister Scamander," Picquery said suddenly and Newt's eyes flicked up to her face, cataloguing her features before darting away. "I believe you are aware that your attendance is expected as you are a witness to Grindelwald's activities before his reveal?"

It was couched as a question but Newt could feel the expectation Picquery had of his attendance. At least he understood now why he hadn't been given permission to leave yet.

Annoying, but not (entirely) unreasonable.

"I, Uh yes. Yes, I received an owl yesterday." Newt's eyes flickered around the expanse of the MACUSA lobby, taking in the various witches and wizards passing them quickly.

"Very well Mister Scamander," Picquery said, shifting and Newt's eyes locked onto the movement, head still angled down, hair hiding his eyes. He saw the way the Madam President moved, weight shifting as she prepared to leave. "I will let you return to the Law Enforcement department where Auror Jones will take your statement to be used in the trial."

"Yes. Of course, Madam President." Newt nodded, shifting and half-turning away before Picquery had even taken a step away from him. It was a risky move, to move away from a predator, but Newt was banking on Picquery's own pressing schedule to allow him to escape any further chit-chat.

"Good day Mister Scamander," Picquery said curtly, turning on her heel and striding away from Newt as he moved away from the centre of the lobby, shoulders relaxing when he had a wall against his back.

He sighed quietly, head raising to survey the room, aware that he was all but invisible to the people milling about now. Newt had worked long and hard to make sure he never exuded any sort of powerful air, no aura that would draw unnecessary (any) attention to him.

More often than not, such an ability served him well when approaching injured animals — especially predators who would sense any sort of powerful air and consider it a threat — and Newt had found it worked quiet well with other humans; magical and muggle alike. If they didn't sense anything powerful (dangerous) about him, then it was far easier for them to disregard him and his presence.

Theseus had told him, jokingly one night, that it was Newt's most dangerous quality — the ability to seem harmless when he was quite the opposite. Newt simply considered it wise, especially since he believed his coat was more than a good enough warning that others ought to be wary of him.

It wasn't his fault so few humans paid little attention to the meaning of colours.

The trial for Grindelwald was going to be… well, trying. Newt had no illusions that the reaction to his exploits in America would have been met with amazed disbelief in the Ministry. He also had no illusions that Theseus was going to rant at him for "picking a fight with a dark wizard like Grindelwald without any back-up" because obviously Theseus would consider only  _ himself _ to be suitable back-up for such a duel.

Newt skirted the perimeter of the lobby, disappearing down the steps towards the Law Enforcement department where he knew Tina was already hard at work. Maybe he'd be able to speak to her before he gave Auror Jones his statement? It'd be nice to see a kind face.

 

* * * * *

 

The Ministry Official that porkeyed in was one that knew nothing of Newt personally — only able to go on office gossip and old school stories to build his perception of what type of person Newt Scamander was — and had already assumed that the magizoologist had been only a witness to Grindelwald's capture. The two Auror's who accompanied him however knew quite differently.

Theseus felt his lip curl slightly at the raised eyebrow Perkins gave him as an American wizard stepped forward to greet them. The Americans at least were wise enough to have a designated area for porkey's to be used in their ministry. A slight shake of his head had Perkins relaxing as the two officials did the usual meet-and-greet spiel, leaving the Auror's in the room to size each other up.

Theseus found himself unimpressed.  _ These _ were the American Auror's who hadn't been able to take Grindelwald down? Some of them at least. No wonder Newt had basically done their job for them.

"Where's Blue Coat?" Perkins muttered to Theseus as they followed the officials out of the room and out into the rest of MACUSA. "Figured he'd be here to meet us, to gloat and all that."

Theseus shot Perkins a look. "Newt doesn't gloat," he said firmly and Perkins blinked. Theseus smirked. "Even if he does show us up all the time."

Perkins snorted. "I hear Cairo don't know if they want to hire him or ban him from Egypt after that last time with the Sphinx and those poachers."

"Cairo wouldn't  _ dare _ , he helps them too damned much," Theseus replied, eyes sparking with pride. "How  _ else _ would Al-Shalad and his team get a day off once a year?"

One of the American Auror's snorted and Theseus glanced at him. "Met Al-Shalad then?" He asked, raising an amused eyebrow when the American nodded. "He's a good Auror but poaching isn't really big on his list of priorities."

"Isn't big on  _ anyone's _ list to be honest," Perkins muttered darkly. "It's no wonder why when Blue Coat handles it himself without six months of paperwork bogging  _ him _ down. "

Theseus grinned. "Newt really doesn't care for paperwork, he's hardly managed to finish the first draft for his  _ book _ ," he told Perkins who laughed. "Want me to get you an advanced copy for your son? Even get Newt to pen something special for him if you like?"

Perkins nodded. "Much appreciated Thad."

They ignored the nonplussed looks on the American Auror's faces, following the officials into a well-lit, organised room that was far more modern than the rooms at their own Ministry. But for all the modernity of the design Theseus noted, things like paperwork stayed much the same.

A small stack was already piled on the one of the desks beneath the large windows that bathed the room in bright light. Outside he had a clear view of much of New York — a novel experience in itself, to have a non-magical view of a city — and Theseus took a moment to take it all in.

It really was breathtaking.

Perkins knocked into him with his shoulder, jolting Theseus out of his brief contemplation and with a calm air, he turned his attention to the discussion between the two officials, slipping silently into one of the chairs at the desk nearest to him.

They'd be here until after the trial, possibly acting as escorts for Grindelwald to Azkaban if that was the verdict. Theseus wondered if he'd catch his brother before it was over, or if he'd have to wait for the annual family get-together to see his little brother. Somehow he imagined he'd be owling their mother and staging an emergency to get Newt home before next Yule.

Eh, he'd pulled dirtier tricks on his brother to get him to visit before, getting their mother in on the act didn't even register compared to having Professor Dumbledore call his brother back home for a surprise birthday party.

Theseus wondered if Newt had really forgiven him for pulling that stunt. Probably not. Oh well, he'd buy him another bowtie to go with his suit for his travels or something, that'd cheer his brother right up.

 

* * * * *

 

Standing in the viewing gallery of the courtroom at the MACUSA — an alien arrangement compared to the ones the Ministry had in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement — Newt wondered how much longer he'd have to be here instead of with his animals. The room was surprisingly empty, only a limited number of people allowed into the room — which included a woefully small number of reporters from a variety of magical newspapers and  _ double _ the amount of Auror's Newt had expected. It seemed obvious, watching the trial proceed, that someone thought there could be a ruckus about to begin and had decided to cover all their bases.

Well, not quite. Head angled down slightly, his fringe blocking any easy view of his eyes, Newt's gaze darted down and to the side to linger on the restrained figure he'd only had the displeasure of speaking to twice now. 

Gellert Grindelwald looked mightily different dressed in the nondescript clothes of a prisoner rather than the head Auror of Magical Security. Mister Graves — the man whose life Grindelwald had played about with for what had apparently been weeks — was sat far from the dark wizard, and Newt considered that a truly wise thing considering the venomous looks Graves had been giving his imposter from the moment he'd entered the room. 

When the dark wizard had been brought into the room a dozen cameras had flashed repeatedly, near blinding Newt as he stood beside Tina and Queenie in the gallery. But Grindelwald hadn't been interested in the cameras — nor the reporters that called out questions to him. Instead the dark wizard's gaze had swept across the courtroom, lingering for a moment on the Ministry officials from several governments including Newt's own before sweeping across Picquery poised to preside over the trial of the century, before coming to a slow, deliberate stop on Newt and his friends.

Tina had stiffened, Queenie instinctively reaching for her sister as she encountered what Newt assumed was a strong mental barrier she couldn't penetrate, and Newt had felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. A warning that danger was imminent. The slight curl of Grindelwald's lip, and the way the dark wizard had let his head tip forward for his hair to act as a curtain around his face… Newt recognised a challenge — a  _ goad  _ — when he saw one.

He simply had no idea what to do with the fact that a deranged dark wizard had issued it to  _ him  _ of all people.

Not that it mattered, not that it should have mattered. Grindelwald was powerless now, and, if it was possible, it was likely he'd face American justice instead of the arguably more lax justice Newt knew his own government preferred. 

He'd never believed that he'd want to see someone dead, not even the poachers who had hurt the creatures he'd rescued over the years, but Grindelwald's continued existence rubbed him the wrong way. Newt didn't know if it was because of the connection he knew between the dark wizard and Dumbledore — the only professor to fight for him at school — or if it was something deeper, more instinctive that drove him to favour neutralising a threat. And really, that was the most disconcerting thing of all. 

His testimony had been short, mostly glossed over as to the hows and whys he'd conveniently had a  _ Thunderbird _ in his possession and his interaction with Credence — he'd quietly but firmly corrected the official when talking about what happened in the subway. Credence deserved to be remembered as a person not a thing made destructive by wizards obsessed with making war. Newt's actual duel with Grindelwald had barely been mentioned. 

Anyone else might have been offended or hurt by that, but Newt had been relieved that it was considered unimportant in the grander scheme of the case against the dark wizard; he really had no desire to recite every spell he'd cast when duelling Grindelwald. 

It would have been a  _ long _ list. 

Theseus, and several years travelling the world alone without back-up, had provided Newt with an exhaustive list of spells to call on. A list that was so full of bastardised spells and charms, jinxes that certainly would have been considered illegal in  _ Britain _ nevermind America, and a choice selection of curses that Newt had cast only once before. 

No, it was a good thing that Newt's duelling prowess wasn't even remotely considered compared to Tina's. She was an actual Auror, a  _ good _ one, and as such her actions were considered far more important to the case and Grindelwald's discovery and capture. 

Still… Newt couldn't help but keep coming back to that smirk Grindelwald had shot him, it bothered him. And now, looking at the dark wizard discreetly, Newt found himself tensing, body readying for a fight.

He shifted minutely, loosening his muscles and moving his hand closer to his wand in his coat pocket. Something wasn't right.

Newt had never ignored his instincts, not since the first time his mother had introduced him to her griffins and, later, hippogriffs. Looking away from Grindelwald, Newt's gaze travelled across the room, seeking out his brother. 

Theseus had the instincts of an Auror — sharp and reactive but also calm and steady — and the instincts of an older brother — alert to changes in a siblings mood, to when they wanted attention — so it came as no surprise to Newt that his brother's blue-green eyes snapped onto Newt's own blue-grey after a few seconds of continuous staring. 

His brother could read Newt as well as Newt could read the mood of a Nundu from fifty paces, and Theseus was even sharper on the uptake than his little brother on what a certain look meant.

The slow nod Theseus gave Newt was all that was needed for Newt to recognise that his brother was as aware of that niggling sense of wrongness. It seemed like they were the only ones who were.

Newt wondered if that was perhaps due to their childhood, growing up surrounded by beasts like Griffins and Hippogriffs. Perhaps it did. But regardless, Newt and Theseus were prepared for whatever Grindelwald had planned. Whether _anyone_ _else_ in the courtroom was prepared was another thing, but Newt had faith in the large number of Auror's in the room — _especially_ Tina. 

A prickle of something, some sharp tingle that felt much like a shock from a muggle electrical device, had Newt grasping his wand a moment before pandemonium occurred. 

A loud whistling sound followed by a snap-crack was all that heralded the appearance of over two dozen dark-dressed wizards in the middle of the courtroom. With a cry of surprise, the ministry official who had been speaking was tossed across the room, colliding with a gaggle of Auror's who fell down in a heap from the impact. 

Newt saw Tina pull her wand out of the corner of his eye. He was already moving, jumping over the rail of the viewing gallery, landing in the middle of the courtroom,wand flitting through the air as he cast spells ceaselessly. 

Theseus was in the middle of the room as well, the other British Auror beside him, and Newt quickly darted towards them, nailing one of Grindelwald's gatecrashers with a vicious jinx before he could curse his brother. 

"Nice timing Blue Coat!" The other Auror shouted, flashing Newt a grin even as he cast a shield charm to repel several hexes thrown their way. 

"Do all of the Auror's in your office use that code Thee'?" Newt asked, the three of them making an oddly-shaped triangle and casting non-verbally. 

"Perkins is the one who championed its use brother mine! Blame him!" Theseus called back, a jet of water bursting out of his wand and slamming into one of the dark wizards in front of him. 

"Don't blame me! Blame your damned fashioned sense Scamander!" Perkins jumped to the side, narrowly dodging a stinging hex that Newt countered before it could hit Theseus. "Both of you!" 

Newt laughed, turning on his heel and nailing another attacker with a jelly legs jinx. A schoolyard jinx it might be, but the way the wizard stumbled and went down on his face showed how perfectly useful it was in a duel. Especially when followed by a powerful  _ stupefy _ that they were too busy trying to cast the counter to the jelly-legs they forgot to pay attention. 

A sudden blast of pure magical power nearly knocked them off their feet, the shield charm Perkins had cast shattering from the force and saving then from going flying across the courtroom. Newt blinked, throwing one last  _ stupefy _ at a wizard groaning on the ground near to them, before his attention was stolen by the scene before him. 

Gellert Grindelwald stood, free of the enchantments that had kept him restrained, a wand dark as night, held loosely in his hand as he looked about the room. 

Picquery, Graves and a half dozen Auror's lay sprawled out on the ground in front of him, all of them groaning and stirring from the blast that had stunned them briefly. 

Theseus' wand snapped up just as Perkins and Newt's did, the three of them casting a powerful shield charm that deflected the spell Grindelwald aimed at the stunned Auror's. It drew the dark wizard's attention and his mismatched eyes locked onto the three of them. 

"You think yourselves a match for me?" Grindelwald sneered, sweeping his wand in a sharp arc, the force of the curse slamming into the shield Newt threw up around them. It cracked but didn't shatter from the force and Theseus took the opportunity to lash out at Grindelwald with a vicious hex, Perkins adding his own disabling charm to the assault.

Grindelwald swept them both aside, rebounding the hex which shattered the fragile shield. A second curse, one that was coloured black, hit Perkins in the chest and dropped him without a word. 

Theseus snarled in wordless anger, slashing through the air viciously. Grindelwald blocked the curse or hex, Newt wasn't quite sure what his brother had cast, and threw his own spell back. 

Newt slammed into his brother's side, forcing them both out of the way of a jet of red light that hit one of the walls of the courtroom, beginning to melt the concrete on contact. He blindly waved his wand, hitting Grindelwald's shield with a jinx that bought them both enough time to scramble to their feet and throw another set of spells at the dark wizard. 

Grindelwald laughed, a horrid rasping sound that gave Newt goosebumps. "Children's jinxes aren't a challenge to me Mister Scamander!"

"They weren't meant to be." Theseus smirked, standing shoulder to shoulder beside Newt. 

"Good for distraction though," Newt added softly, smiling at Grindelwald's frown. 

" _ Stupefy! _ "

Grindelwald snarled, turning sharply and barely managing to deflect the powerful red beam shot at him by a kneeling Percival Graves. The look on Graves' face was just shy of murderous. 

Grindelwald swept his wand in a sharp, downward arc towards Graves who threw himself to the side, his own wand moving perpendicular to Grindelwald's own. The two spells hit each other in mid-air and emitted a bright flash that blinded everyone in the room for a minute. 

Newt blindly cast another spell in Grindelwald's direction, pleased when the dark wizard let out a surprised curse. He followed it up with a series of chain-spells designed to distract Grindelwald as Theseus began casting a complex spell. 

The wandwork took over a minute but if he could cast it, it'd disable Grindelwald quite effectively for a good while. 

Newt was his brother's defender up until that point. Graves a useful distraction. 

The other Auror's in the room were either still stunned from the force of the magical explosion or in their own skirmishes with whatever remained of Grindelwald's fanatics. 

Tina and Queenie worked together, chain-casting on the ends of each other's spells and holding off four different wizards. Picquery had several Auror's with her and they were collectively handling the majority of the wizards that had apparated into the courtroom. 

Even the reporters were fighting here and there. 

With a snarl, Graves conjured a torrent of flame and aimed it at Grindelwald who dispelled it quickly, managing to deflect Newt's stinging jinx just in time to avoid burnt fingers.

A guttural series of sounds from Grindelwald that Newt vaguely recognised as German had Graves flying backwards, unable to counter a foreign curse so easily. 

That left Newt defending his brother against Grindelwald. Alone. 

" _ Protego! _ " A blue bubble shield materialised around Theseus as Newt leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding a deadly curse. He moved carefully, blocking and deflecting the wordless spells Grindelwald threw at him — forever thankful that he'd accepted the duelling offer from Albus last year. 

A burst of inspiration hit Newt as he barely managed to deflect another curse. He was mostly on the defense right now, unable to spare much time to cast any sort of complicated or powerful spell, but that didn't mean he couldn't buy himself time to cast one. Only that he'd need to be creative.

The Swooping Evil in his pocket was a creative idea. 

Slipping a hand into his pocket, Newt let the creature loose just as he cast a stupefy at Grindelwald, buying the creature a second to swoop up into the air and skirt the edge of the room. 

Mimicking the sound of another Swooping Evil, Newt had it diving at the wizards in the room, effectively disrupting a great many of the occupants and their duels. Grindelwald was likewise distracted when a stray jinx hit him from behind as a dark wizard was struck by the Swooping Evil. 

Newt was already moving before he realised, wand sweeping through the air quickly and sharply, powering through the motions for a powerful disabling spell he'd once used on an entire group of poachers in East Asia. 

He hoped it worked as well now as it did then.

Grindelwald's wand shot out of his hand with a loud bang that deafened everyone in such close quarters. With a surprised cry, the dark wizard was flung backwards, slamming into a wall and slumping to the ground in a confused daze. 

Just as he hit the wall, Theseus' own spell was completed and dozens of fine, gossamer threads shot out of his wand, latching onto Grindelwald and wrapping him from head-to-toe in a silvery cocoon. The reason the spell took so long to cast was due to the nature of the threads it produced; highly resistant to magic, they could only be undone by the one who cast the spell in the first place. 

The remaining dark wizards were summarily subdued by the Auror's in the room — aided by the Swooping Evil that followed Newt's directions as he threw  _ stupefy's _ at anyone who wasn't an Auror or a reporter. 

The grin Theseus gave him when he woke Perkins who cursed viciously, made Newt grin back. The amazed look Perkins gave him had him blushing and ducking his head in embarrassment. 

Newt doubted he'd be able to pass this off as chance to people. Not when so many Auror's had basically just bore witness to fight with Grindelwald. 

The curious look Mister Graves had given Newt before he left the courtroom with his brother had confirmed that fact. Queenie appearing at his side, slipping her arm around his and smiling at him knowingly, had made Newt smile bashfully. 

"You were brilliant Newt," she murmured, her eyes bright and full of fondness. "A regular knight." 

Newt's blush returned in full as Theseus choked on his laughter. "I didn't do that much Queenie." 

The stern look Queenie gave Newt almost had him looking away from the young witch, but she deserved better than Newt's usual habits and he forced himself to not look away from her knowing gaze. 

"If that's what you can do when you 'don't do much' then I wonder what you can do when you put your mind to it," Queenie paused for a moment before smirking suddenly. "Blue Coat." 

Theseus' laughter drowned out Newt's groan of exasperation as they exited the courtroom. 

He'd never be rid of that nickname now! 

**Author's Note:**

> Theseus is now a new fav btw. It's a good thing him and Newt don't see each other that often, the magical world would tumble before the brilliance of the Scamander brothers! 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


End file.
